Home
by gunny9131
Summary: AU not compatible with DH or HPB. SSHG pairing and non-cannon character. Set 10 years after the golden trio leaves school. The threat of Voldemort is gone, and everyone is still rebuilding their lives. Hermione comes back to teach at Hogwarts
1. Chapter 1

Home

AU not compatable with HBP or DH. SSHG pairing and non cannon character. Rated PG-13 for adult language/situations. A decade has passed since the golden trio graduated. The threat of Voldemort is gone, and Hermione returns to teach at Hogwarts.

I do not own Harry Potter. Damn.

AN: This is my first attempt at a HP fic. If you all want me to continue this forward, please review. I won't keep beating a flop to death.

Soft clicks from her heeled shoes against the stone floor resonated through the great hall as she entered Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. She took a moment here, closing her eyes and inhaling the scent and feel of the old school, remembering carefree times she'd had here as a student nearly ten years ago. So many things were bound to have changed; but it was still the same. Now she was returning to a place that was home, a professor, an expert in her field.

"Professor," The familiar voice of her old head of house greeted her. "Welcome back Hermione." Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, smiled at her former student. 'My, my… but what a lovely young woman you turned into.' Minerva smiled to herself. "You look lovely, Hermione."

Hermione Granger smiled fondly at the older woman, "Professor, you have not changed a bit since the last time we saw one another."

"Hermione, we are colleagues, I insist you call me by my name." Minerva looked over the rim of her spectacles. "Let me show you to your quarters before we chat with Albus."

After ensuring that her quarters were adequate, Minerva and Hermione talked with Albus Dumbledore about the upcoming school year. They had requested that Hermione come in June so that she may arrange her curriculum and get settled into her new role as Charms professor. The other professors would not arrive until August, but as the only new staff appointment this year, Hermione was receiving on the job mentoring from the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress. Her days were filled with selecting course materials and planning her classes for the year as well as continuing her personal research.

The day that the other professors were due back, Minerva informed her that there would be a staff meeting over lunch where they would announce her appointment to the school, and, if she wished as Head of Griffyndor House. Hermione graciously accepted this unexpected appointment with a little apprehension at working beside many of her former professors. Thus far Hermione had learned that the total number of staff changes that had been made was limited to her taking over for Filius Flitwick, and that a woman named Serena Arroya had taken over Arithmancy three years ago. Serena would also be assuming the duties as head of Ravenclaw. Serena had graduated Hogwarts four years ahead of Hermione, but she could not place the other professor from her school days.

As Hermione dressed for the meeting she briefly wondered how she would be received by Professor Snape, the ever surly and cantankerous Potions Master. She knew that she, Harry, and Ron had been the bane of his existence next to the Weasley twins and Neville Longbottom while she had been in school. She silently chided herself as she looked into her reflection. She certainly didn't look like a child anymore; her hair had tamed itself so that the chocolate brown locks flowed in smooth waves down her back, her figure had most definitely filled out, and she carried herself with confidence that was sure but at least more subdued than the resident know-it-all that she had been. She was no longer school girl who could be bullied by the likes of Severus Snape. Hermione smoothed the casually elegant midnight-blue robes over her figure and re-checked her make-up once more before heading to the great hall to reunite herself with her former professors.

By the time Hermione arrived, most of the professors were already present, with the exceptions of Madam Hooch and Professor Sinistra. She smiled pleasantly as she greeted and was greeted by her new colleagues.

Severus Snape had been forewarned by Minerva to behave himself towards Miss—Hermione. He had been on the receiving end of a rather stern and lengthy lecture regarding his former pupil. Something about her not being one of his students anymore and her being rather respected as a professional in the rest of the wizarding world as a charms specialist. He wasn't really paying attention. He rarely did, but he was to busy agonizing over the fact that he had to 'be nice' to the brightest third of the golden trio. True, he had been duly impressed when he came upon several of the articles she had written on charms theory, but that was beside the point. She was still that know-it-all in his brain, and he couldn't adjust that quickly. When the person in question walked into the hall, however, he couldn't help but notice that she definitely was NOT a teenaged girl anymore. He was a little disturbed by the fact that he immediately gave her an appraising look, not as a colleague, but as a man measuring up an attractive woman. He was even more disturbed by the fact that he did find her attractive. 'Blast.' Severus mentally shook those thoughts from his head and managed to keep a neutral face as she made her way to him. 'Here goes nothing, be… nice' the very thought still made him want to retch.

Hermione had no choice but to greet the brooding potions master so she would not appear rude. She had already spoken to every other professor present. 'After all,' she thought, 'the man is truly amazing… his accomplishments are outstanding, he is incredibly intelligent, and he's sacrificed so much to still be ostracized… but he's probably going to snark at me. Here goes nothing.' "Professor Snape," She smiled kindly and extended her hand in greeting.

"Professor Granger," he acknowledged, taking her hand firmly but gently. "Welcome back." He was trying hard to stay neutral and… what had Minerva said, 'judge her professionally first then revisit the person. People change.'

Hermione genuinely smiled feeling slightly relieved as she looked into his eyes, "thank you. It's wonderful to be back."

Severus was rocked by what he saw when he made eye contact. Her eyes had the same look in them as he knew his did; the look of someone who was not innocent, who had seen too much. He was about to speak again when Albus spoke up forcing him to break physical and eye contact with the new professor.

"Welcome back, everyone! Please be seated so that we may begin."

After the new appointments were announced and business talk was finished, the professors began their meal. Hermione found herself seated next to Severus and Serena. She found that she immediately liked the other witch so when business was finished she and Serena struck up a conversation.

"So, Hermione, do you have any pressing engagements this evening?"

"Not really, I was going to finish some research that I'm in the middle of, but other than that nothing. Why?" Hermione took a bite of her food, trying to ignore puzzling over the way she saw Severus look at her earlier.

"Well its kind of a tradition that the teachers all go down to Hogsmeade tonight and get trashed." Serena finished the sentence matter-of-factly.

Hermione nearly choked on her food. That was not what she had been expecting. "Seriously?"

"Unfortunately." Severus deadpanned from her other side, but otherwise ignored her.

Serena's musical laugh floated around the hall. "Oh Severus, you know you enjoy it. But yes Hermione, seriously. We don't have much time over the school year to cut loose, so we usually go out a couple of times before the start of term."

Hermione looked around the table at the other professors, "Why not." She smiled to herself and finished her meal. When she was done and the teachers had been dismissed, she and Serena left the together chatting and bonding. After all Serena, Hermione, and Severus were the youngest members of the staff by a number of years. Hermione knew she was going to need a friend.

Once she and Serena were behind closed doors in Hermione's chambers, the women chattered away about everything from work to men and disasterous affairs.

"So Hermione, you seeing anyone currently?"

"Nope." Hermione chuckled shrugging. "I haven't so much as peeped anyone of the opposite sex in over a year."

"Sad. You need to get lucky then." Serena laughed at Hermione's face.

"And who do you suppose I should seduce? Severus?"

"Why not? He needs to get some too. Cranky bastard," Serena spoke the last bit tenderly.

"Ha ha ha, very funny." Hermione rolled her eyes, as she picked out clothes for that evening's festivities.

"Seriously, I think he fancies you. You should have seen him trying to lift his jaw off the ground when you walked in. He was giving you the 'come hither' look." Serena punctuated her last remark by mimicking said 'come hither' look.

"Right," Hermione threw a pillow at the other woman "the only professor in this school that absolutely hated—with a capital H—hated me while I was here wants to do the 'no-no tango' with me. Dream on cupid." Hermione settled on her outfit. A form fitting, low cut, set of deep red robes that were just shy of being too provocative. "What do you think?" Hermione asked as she twirled in front of Serena.

"Owww. Yeah, you're getting laid tonight! Poor Severus doesn't know what he's in for." Serena yelped as Hermione threw another pillow. "Ok, ok Sorry."

A few hours later with Serena dressed similarly to Hermione but in a rich royal blue, the pair made their way to the three broomsticks. "We're so late!" Hermione giggled as they approached the bar.

"Correction darling, we are fashionably late." Serena entered the tavern as a Diva would greet a crowd of adoring fans, before she pulled Hermione over to the tables where the other staff members were already drinking. "We're here!"

Severus couldn't help staring this time. She was gorgeous. Serena, he was used to. The Ravenclaw Arithmancy professor had always been…like this. Hermione, however, 'the years have been kind.' His eyes traveled slowly from her head to her feet and back up. His former student or not, he couldn't deny that Hermione Granger now had a sensuality about her that she wore as casually as another woman might wear a fragrance. He managed to snap out of his reverie for his manners to kick in and he stood as the ladies looked for a spot to sit.

Hermione felt herself blush slightly as she did take notice of Severus' gaze this time. When he stood, the other male staff members followed suit, Hermione found that the only two empty seats were by Pomona and Severus. Serena had just taken the spot by Pomona giving Hermione a devilish grin leaving her to sit by the potions master. She looked at Severus again who was still standing. She smiled coyly at him as he gestured to the seat on the bench next to him. She sat gingerly on the bench as Severus joined her. She smiled her thanks to him and for the first time she registered that he was not in his usual billowing black robes, but instead a black button down shirt and black slacks. The lack of yards of cloth covering his frame allowed her to see that his body was not scrawny as she had thought when she was a student, but lean and trim. He was skinny, but he had some muscle tone. She felt her stomach clench in feminine approval as she looked to his face. His eyes were intense on her face, watching her watch him. His black eyes were unreadable, but for the first time that she could remember, he seemed relaxed and almost friendly. She smiled at him again, "You look nice Severus."

A small smile played on his lips as he watched her. His baritone voice was like velvet, "you are radiant." He smiled again then turned his attention to the rest of the table. The Hogwarts staff was already letting loose and the alcohol was flowing freely. No one had noticed their little exchange. When Madam Rosmerta came to see to their drinks, Hermione ordered a glass of elven wine and Severus addressed the barmaid, "Rosmerta I'll take another Firewhisky, and put Professor Granger's drinks on my tab." Rosmerta waved her wand and the drinks appeared and Hermione looked as if she was going to protest. Severus smirked, "Hermione, a new professor never pays for their drinks, so, unless you are going to thank me, I don't want to hear it."

Hermione blushed again but replied all the same, "Thank you Severus."

Serena raised her glass and the staff quieted a little as the professor spoke, "here's to the start of another year, and also to Hermione. Welcome aboard!" After the staff toasted to her Hermione started to drink and became engaged in a debate between Severus, Alana Sinistra, Minerva, and Pomona over education values of the parents in the wizarding world.

"Honestly Minerva," Severus was leaning forward with his arms on the table, "if these dunderheads had parents that actually cared about the education that their offspring receive, many more students would be serious about learning; lack of interest in education by the parents, results in students not caring to learn. And now that the threats of recent years have subsided I think we will see more students dropping out after O.W.L.s."

Minerva shook her head slowly, "I don't think that is the case. A student will only learn if they, themselves, want to learn."

Alana nodded, "I agree. I think this trend is something to worry about, but we need to find ways to keep these students engaged in their studies."

"Yes and no." Hermione piped in and all heads turned to her. "Students will learn only if they are engaged in what they are learning, but Severus is right. Love for education starts at an early age. Most muggle parents leave their children to be raised by the tele now instead of taking the time to read their children a book or other such learning activities. This problem starts at home. But as professors, it is OUR job to engage our students and teach them passion for our respective subjects." As Hermione finished her point she looked directly at Severus.

Severus watched her argue her point. He was reminded of how she used to love to learn and how he belittled her for it. He suddenly felt remorse for how he treated her years ago. 'What am I thinking? I am actually feeling bad about things that happened nearly a decade ago. I was a different person then. Calloused. I was a downright sadistic bastard to her.' He withdrew from the conversation as he brooded quietly thinking about what an ass he truly was. Around students he still was 'the greasy git,' 'the overgrown bat' and now he sat here wishing he could change that but knowing he couldn't. In recent years he had taken strides to open up, but that was only to the staff members. Most of society shunned him still. 'I need another drink.' He signaled to Rosmerta for another refill.

Hermione noticed Severus withdraw into himself, inwardly she sighed and signaled for her third glass of wine. As she sipped her drink she observed he festive group. The professors were all well on their way to being three sheets to the wind. Some were already there. Hermione had to giggle as Pomona and Serena started singing pub shantes, she had to admit the elven wine was having an effect on her as well. She shifted slightly in her seat, leaning back on the bench and suddenly became very aware of Severus next to her. She glanced over at him cocking her head. Sometime in the course of her discussion with Minerva and Alana Severus had sat back and had let his arm drape on the bench behind her. Now that she was level with him, his arm was practically around her shoulders and she was becoming emboldened with alcohol in her veins she thought, 'there's no harm in flirting with a single, sexy co-worker is there?'

"So Severus," because of the alcohol her voice became slightly throaty and somewhat seductive. "How have you been? I didn't keep up with many people after…" She trailed off thinking that she was not a great flirt.

Severus looked over at Hermione as she purred his name. He smiled a bit as he noticed her cheeks were pink from the wine and that she had moved a little closer to him. "Well, I wasn't someone you probably would have wanted to keep up with, now was I?"

Hermione caught her lip lightly between her teeth before she answered. "No. To be honest, but you've changed somehow."

He smiled again as she seemed to puzzle over him "Oh?" He wasn't a fool. Its not everyday that a woman that looked like Hermione hit on him… well tried at least.

"Yes. Something is definitely different." Hermione cocked her head this way than that as if inspecting him from all angles. "You didn't cut your hair…at least you didn't change the style. You didn't get a new job. A new woman maybe? You are more…open" Hermione, emboldened with drink, took his left hand from the other side of him and looked for a ring before slowly letting her fingers leave his skin. "Not married." She continued to observe him.

"No woman; not married. Divorced." Severus watched her closely for a reaction.

Hermione looked into his eyes as he said that there was no woman he was seeing. She was about to comment when a din from down the table caught her attention. She laughed and as she did so leaned a little further into Severus. Serena had gotten ahold of a camera and was snapping pictures of random patrons creating quite a mess. "Serena! What are you doing?"

Serena made her way to their end of the table. She held up the camera, "Let me take your picture!" Hermione laughed and looked at Severus. He shrugged his consent and Hermione nodded to Serena. "I can't fit you both in the frame like that! Hermione sit on his lap so I can get a good one!"

Hermione slid onto Severus' lab and tingled with delight as his hands went to her hips to steady her.

Serena took the picture, "Aww, you guys look cute like that. One more!"

Hermione laughed and felt Severus chuckle as she relaxed against him. Serena got the picture she wanted and floated away again. Hermione found that she didn't want to leave Severus' touch. As if he could read her mind his hand squeezed her hip gently and he whispered into her ear, "Serena was never good at being subtle. I might think she was trying to set us up." Hermione shivered in delight as his breath tickled her neck. She slowly slid off of his lap, but just barely keeping her leg flush against his.

"Mmmmm, yes she was trying to convince me earlier that you fancied me." Hermione searched his eyes for some clue.

Severus cocked a half smile, "I thought you were a know it all, you figure it out."

Hermione smiled back and continued to subtly flirt with Severus all night. Light touches here, shy smiles there. Drawing him into conversations to maintain her flirtatious actions. Hermione judged when enough time and alcohol had passed her colleagues, where they wouldn't think anything of her going back to the castle before she turned to Severus. "Severus, would you escort me back to the castle? It getting warm in here, and I am ready for a quieter atmosphere."

Severus nodded. He signaled Rosmerta and paid the tab. He bid their colleagues good night as did Hermione, bugging off with the excuse of being tired.

Once outside Severus offered Hermione his robes. Nights were cool in Scottland even in summer. Hermione inhaled his scent as she was engulfed in his garment. His smell was so wonderful. Masculine, spicy, and subtle; not overpowering, sexy. As they walked Hermione took a chance and looking sidelong at Severus slipped her hand into his. He smiled and laced his fingers with hers as they walked in silence.

Once they reached the castle, Severus suggested a walk around the grounds. He didn't quite want to leave her company. Whether they were inebriated or not, he couldn't deny his attraction to her, and she was willingly returning his affections. A little way into their walk Hermione stopped and when he turned to look at her, he saw a fire behind her eyes. His chest felt tight at the sight of her like this.

Hermione's heart was beating rapidly in her chest. She wanted so badly for him to kiss her. To touch her. She felt a deep longing for him in her body, so when he looked at her like that it was al she could do to keep a demure distance. He brought his hands up to cup her cheek and stepped closer to her.

Their bodies were pressed together as he lowered his mouth to hers. He kissed her gently, tentatively at first, caressing her lips with his. When she opened her mouth to invite him in, he savored her taste. Her hands snaked around his neck as he deepened their kiss, her hands tangling themselves in the soft hair at the base of his neck. As they continued to kiss, Hermione felt his arousal against her pelvis and was pleased to know he was just as excited by her as she was by him. He slowly broke the kiss, regretting losing the contact. As he pulled away Hermione's breathing was heavy.

"What's wrong?" She searched his face.

"Nothing," he caressed her cheek. "But I don't want you to do something you will regret tomorrow."

"I won't. Please don't stop."

"Not tonight." He kissed her again briefly. "Let me take you to your rooms."

He kissed her thoroughly on her doorstep, but refused to come inside. He didn't want to have a one night stand and told her so. He kissed her forehead, bid her good night, and told her to come talk to him in the morning.

Hermione closed her door as he walked away. She was frustrated, 'why?' She went through the range of emotions connected with rejection in her head. Was she not good enough? What was wrong with her? Even Severus didn't want her. She was too hysterical to realize he didn't say he didn't want her; he just didn't want her tonight. He didn't turn her down, he just didn't want to make a mistake. He had told her to see him tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Hermione woke the next morning with her head pounding. It was only after the pounding refused to stop did she realize that the noise was actually someone knocking on her door. She groaned as she rolled unsteadily out of bed. "Coming," she called as she put on her dressing gown and tottered to the door.

"Morning!" Serena greeted as the door opened. "You look terrible… Are you alone?" Serena wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Yes of course I am—oh…" Hermione cradled her head in her hands moaning. "What did I do?"

Serena made her was into Hermione's chambers as if she had known the other woman for years. "I don't know. What did you do?" She was almost bursting at the seams, eager for Hermione to spill the all the gory details. "You and Severus seemed really cozy last night—I did tell you so—and he walked you back. So?"

"So what?" Hermione was slowly pulling on her clothes.

"So how is he? He's got to be great in bed, well… is he?"

"I wouldn't know."

Serena's head snapped up from the photographs that she had been carrying. "What?!" she was baffled. "Why wouldn't you know? You two practically undressed each other in the bar to go at it on the table."

Hermione sighed and began to brush her hair, "I don't know. He said he didn't want me." Hermione considered this for a moment frowning. "No, he said he didn't want a one night stand with me."

"What? Why?!" Serena stood by her new friend. "That doesn't make since. I've been, I daresay, friends, with Severus for three years, and usually when he acts with other women the way he did with you last night, he beds them."

"I don't know, but thanks this is helping my self-esteem a lot," Hermione sighed.

"Well, we will figure it out. Come on lets go get some food in you."

Hermione sat at the table with Serena and nearly dry-heaved at the smell of food. "Oh gods, Serena, I think I'm still drunk," she managed.

Severus looked up at her from a few spots down and quirked an eyebrow, hiding a smile. He rose from his place and walked over to Serena and Hermione who had her head in her hands. "Elven wine does leave a particularly nasty hangover." He set a hangover potion down gently by Hermione, resisting the urge to brush her hair away from her cheek as he walked out of the hall.

Hermione moaned again after Severus left but quickly downed the potion. After a moment she felt well enough to start eating and looked at Serena speaking in low tones. "I practically threw myself on him last night. What have I done? Did you see that, he can't even stand to be around me." Hermione was working herself up and burning with shame.

"Hermione…" Serena looked at the remaining breakfasters and then in the direction that Snape had gone. "Honestly, maybe you are seeing this wrong. I mean it's not like he ran away from you."

"He might as well have—''

"He didn't. He even gave you a potion to make you feel better. And from the looks of it he hasn't been that kind to anyone else at the table." Serena motioned around to the hung-over professors that were attempting to eat. "So maybe you missed something he said, or misinterpreted."

Hermione thought as she chewed on a bit of kipper. She started replaying what happened last night again over in her head, and immediately wished she hadn't. It was awkward feeling the echoes of last night's passion while being in such a public place. Just thinking of how he had kissed her sent renewed shivers of anticipation and desire down her spine. She wanted more. She felt her cheeks starting to burn as she glanced at Serena. "No. He said he didn't want to sleep with me. Something about, not wanting to regret it in the morning." Hermione quailed at the look Serena had on her face, "I'm sorry! It's just all a little bit hazy."

Serena had excused herself from Hermione a little bit after breakfast with the excuse of having to re-plan a lesson. She wanted to talk to Severus herself. Not that he would actually tell her anything; 'damn gentleman that one.' She knocked on the door to his office and waited for him to answer. She knew there had to be more to last night than Hermione had said; she had gotten to know Severus well enough to know his likes and dislikes in women. And Hermione was definitely in the 'like' category. And he wasn't the type of man to kiss a woman then tell her to 'bugger off.' No, he was rude enough, or polite enough, depending on how you look at it, to start snarling before physical contact has been made. Finally Severus answered the door. "Hello Severus, might I speak to you a moment?" Serena thought she saw a trace of disappointment flicker across his features.

Severus opened the door to his office hoping to see Hermione, but instead he was faced with her new best friend. Inwardly he sighed thinking that maybe Hermione had just been drunk last night, and wasn't attracted to him after all. "Sure, won't you come in?" He opened the door wider and stood back allowing her entrance.

Serena smiled, "I thought you might like to see the pictures from last night. I made you a copy of the picture of you and Hermione." Serena handed him a few photographs and sat in one of the more comfortable chairs in his office.

"Thank you, but you didn't come down here to hand me a few photos." He pinned her with a stern look.

"You caught me!" She merrily shrugged, "I talked with Hermione earlier--"

"Stop. I know what you are going to ask, and it is inappropriate."

"It's inappropriate to want to discuss Educational values?" Serena feigned innocence.

Severus snorted, 'some spy you are; gave her too much ammo already.' "No, I'm not discussing Hermione with you."

Serena narrowed her eyes at him. "Then I'm going to discuss her with you. What did you do to her? She was feeling terrible this morning; she feels like she pushed her unwanted attentions on you and is burning in shame. She said that you told her that you didn't want her after you snogged her senseless. Severus, talk to me. You know I'm not going to gossip about, I just want to know how to comfort my friend."

"Apparently the elven wine gave her selective hearing because I never told her that I didn't want her." Severus glared as Serena gave him a prompting 'go on' gesture. "Fine. I am attracted to her, and what I told her is that I didn't want a one night stand with her."

Serena huffed; "I knew that—oh" Her eyes went wide as she put the pieces together. "Are you getting soft in your old age? Sevvie wants a real, honest-to-goodness girlfriend?" Serena clapped her hands delightedly.

Severus growled, "Kindly, refrain from calling me 'Sevvie,' and it's none of your business what I want."

"Oh come off it! Of course it's my business silly! I'm your friend, and conveniently, I'm HER friend too."

"And?" Severus was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He hated discussing 'mushy' stuff with anyone, especially when he knew that as soon as Serena went back up stairs, Hermione would know what they had spoken of.

"And, dear Severus, I might be able to save you both some agony. You know for two of the most intelligent people that I know, you two are dumb when it comes to inter-personal relationships." Serena blinked innocently at him. When she was a student, she never would have thought of having any sort of amiable conversation with him. But when she had become a teacher, he had been kind to her; in his own way, of course. In the last three years he had taken leaps and bounds in the aspect of his social life. He actually had a social life now. "Look, Severus, I know that since your divorce was finalized, you have become something of a man-whore. But what puzzles me is why stop last night? I mean, I've never known you to be that considerate of any woman, no offense. And if you are ready to actually have a relationship again, Hermione… well she may be IT. You know soul-mates, and all of that crap."

"I don't believe in 'soul mates,' or 'love at first sight.' You should know that. Hell, I'm not even sure if I believe in love." Severus paused and ran his hand through his hair. "I just refuse to cause her any more damage than what I inflicted on her when she was a student."

"So you don't have feelings toward her?" Serena frowned.

"Like I told you every other time you have tried to set me up; I don't kiss and tell. My feelings are my business." He fixed her with a stern look. "If you really want to help soothe Hermione's pride, tell her to come and talk to me herself."

"Well, she doesn't exactly know that I'm here." Serena twisted her hands.

Severus rolled his eyes and moved toward his desk hoping that she would take the hint that, as far as he was concerned, the conversation was over.

Serena made her way back toward Ravenclaw tower slowly. Her mind was buzzing with ideas and theories. After leaving Severus she dropped by to tell Hermione to go talk to him and clear things up, arguing again that she had probably misunderstood his intentions. But after leaving Hermione to her work, Serena could not help trying to solve the Hermione-Severus problem. Severus didn't believe in love; Hermione, for some reason yet to be determined, didn't feel that she deserved love, so she shunned it as a silly idea. Serena smiled to herself, she loved puzzles. She was a Ravenclaw, after all, this was going to be her greatest problem yet. She knew that with a certain amount of meddling and probably some help from the chief-meddler himself, Dumbledore, that she was going to get both of them to find love with each other. It's not like the feelings would need to be developed out of thin air. With that she retreated to her tower to scheme.

Hermione sat fiddling with her quill. She had been trying to conclude some research, but found herself zoning out thinking about Severus. "Honestly!" Hermione shook herself mentally. 'Since when did I let anything like this affect my work?' She scolded herself and looked back at her research giving it up for a lost cause at the moment. If one night and a few stolen kisses were affecting her like this, it was something she needed to examine further. 'Since when am I attracted to a man like Severus Snape?' Hermione grabbed a piece of parchment to do what she knew best; study the situation with logic. She began with basic facts and added in suspicion, and after a few hours of soul searching, she had a hypothesis.

She came to the conclusion that Severus was exactly the type of man that she'd dreamt about meeting, 'Crap!' He was intelligent, brave, and, in his own way, kind. She could converse with him on a wide array of topics, and she knew without a doubt that his sense of logic matched her own, as evidenced by the logic puzzle of his that she had solved in her first year. Not only that, but upon further examination of her feelings she realized something that she hadn't even allowed herself to recognize at the time; but she knew now that she had had a crush on him since her fifth year, 'double crap.' However in the back of her mind she had a few nagging questions that no one but he could answer. First and foremost was how could he be feeling even somewhat attracted to her? He had loathed her existence when she was a student; he had belittled her and insulted her. And now after only a single day of being his equal, he was somehow miraculously attracted enough to her to make out with her under the stars? It didn't make any since! 'I will not let him reduce me into nothing more than a pining school-girl.'

At that moment she made up her mind to have words with him. She had managed to work herself into a temper by the time she reached the dungeons, and when she knocked on his door she was already rehearsing her tirade.

Severus glanced up from the syllabus that he was preparing at the firm knocking on his door. He was surprised when he opened the door to see a very angry looking Hermione on his doorstep. He stood aside in a nonverbal gesture that she should enter before she began fuming at him. As soon as his door was shut she whirled on him eyes ablaze and ready for a fight. He couldn't help but notice she was beautiful even in temper. He steeled himself against the impending onslaught as she began in what he understood as a dangerous tone of voice.

"What do you want from me?" It wasn't the question she'd been intending on asking, but it came out anyway. Even through her temper, she noticed the change in his body language immediately.

"I beg your pardon?" His voice was flat and unassuming.

"What do you want from me?" She repeated her temper flaring high, "I've been thinking about what happened last night and it doesn't make sense! What game are you playing at, Severus? Since you have known me, you have hated me, and suddenly in one day your opinion has changed? Are you still trying to punish me for being Harry's friend? Or being too smart? What?"

Severus had to take a moment to wrap his mind around her arguments. "Hermione, I'm not sure I quite follow. It was not my intention to punish you for anything. But as we are on the subject, why don't you ask yourself some of those same questions. I don't delude myself into thinking that my students like me, in fact I make sure they don't. So why would your opinion change in one day? Not just that, but if you haven't noticed you are a very attractive woman, if you can't figure out why I responded to your advances, well…" He trailed off and Hermione stepped closer to him.

"I won't deny being attracted to you Severus. Not only am I attracted to you now, I have been since I was your student. But you still aren't making sense! If you were just a man responding to a woman, why wouldn't you sleep with me? Do you know how hard it is for someone like me to--"

"To what?" His voice was dangerously low. His temper was rising to match hers. He couldn't help, however, the little flop his stomach had made when she confessed her attraction to him.

"To prostrate my feelings out to someone like you, who I'm used to hearing nothing but insults from!" She stepped close to him threateningly as her anger took the better of her.

Severus reacted out of habit as she moved toward him. His hand shot out and wrapped itself around her throat, not hard enough to do any damage, but enough to scare her. He drew her even closer to him and growled, "Careful woman. You play with fire…"

"I'm a big girl; you let me worry about getting burned." Hermione held her ground showing no fear. They were nose to nose now and her skin tingled where he touched her, even though the gesture was meant to be threatening. Hermione couldn't help her pulse skipping in response to his proximity to her.

Severus saw her pupils dilate slightly the way they had last night when he had been about to kiss her and her pulse was ticking beneath his fingertips. He felt his own skin flush with desire as she glared defiantly up at him. Without thinking his idea through Severus increased his pressure on her throat but only to draw her close. He kissed her then but it was not gentle. He was not being kind or patient with her now. She told him not to worry about her getting burned, so he didn't. If she wanted a quick roll in the hay, fine. He backed her up to his desk one hand still at her throat; he hooked his other arm around her waist and lifted her so that she was sitting on the desk. He stood between her legs, moving one hand from her waist to her knee where he could hitch up her robes.

Hermione was floored by the amount of passion that was in his kiss. She responded to him eagerly, becoming aroused by him controlling her. As he started to lift her robes, Hermione fisted her hands in his hair pulling him closer. Once he was where she wanted him, Hermione grabbed to collar of his shirt and pulled with all of her might scattering buttons in every direction. Only then did Severus let go of her throat to disrobe her as quickly as he possibly could. As he ripped her clothes from her body he muttered a contraceptive charm and he began exploring her. Hermione had never felt anything like this. Her body was on fire with lust and passion. The slightest friction of skin on skin sent tremors through her core. They were racing at a break neck speed into oblivion.

After they were finished they stayed as they were supporting one another, shivering and trying to calm their breathing. Severus regained himself first and withdrew from her touch and began redressing. Hermione shifted to cover herself up and was about to speak when Severus spoke with his back turned. "You got want you wanted, now leave." He quickly exited his office for his quarters leaving her there satiated but extremely confused.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

AN: Thanks for the kind reviews! I will try to continue to update on a regular basis, but I work A LOT. So please be patient with me. Just so you all remember, this is my first HP fic, so any suggestions are welcome, and sorry about any typos that I missed. Sometimes my brain moves a lot faster than my fingers can on the keyboard. Also I have to apologize; I realized this story is becoming kind of emo-angsty. But if you don't like it don't read it. If you do like it please review.

Hermione quickly repaired her torn clothing with a flick of her wand and redressed herself. She needed to get out of here. The dungeon office still smelled of their recent passion. As she dressed she realized just how sensitized her skin still was; she felt muscles she didn't even know that she had clench in pleasure as the fabric of her clothing brushed spots were Severus' hands had been not so very long ago. She managed to dress and leave his office, but the stairs were an issue, considering her legs were still like jelly. No man had ever had this affect on her. Ever. She had never been so aroused, or felt so physically satisfied in her life. And now she was sure she'd never experience anything that gratifying with a man again. In a way she now felt that a piece of her was missing; something she'd never even realized was there.

Severus stormed through his quarters and immediately jumped into the shower trying to rinse away the feel of her body against his. 'Damn the woman!' He was angry with her, but even more so at himself. She'd pushed him and pushed him and then he'd taken from her out of anger what he would have cherished in kindness. But why? Why had he lost all ability to control himself around her. He drew in a shuddering breath as he stood beneath the hot spray. He shouldn't have done it. Now, he certainly would not have the chance to be that close to her again. "Damn it, Hermione!" His fist slammed into the marble wall of his shower. He hated when men used their physical strength to subdue a woman; those who did were either ignorant or despicable; his father for example who was both. He had promised himself many years ago that he would never force himself on a woman. He had made it through being a Deatheater with out doing so, and now when he thought he may have legitimate feelings for a woman, he took advantage of her. Severus hung his head in disgust. She would hate him now, he needed to accept that and protect himself against it. Suddenly he wished that he still kept his feelings in a bottle and at bay. It was easier than risking getting hurt.

Hermione was back in her office freshly showered and re-clothed. What had she done? She really had forced herself on him today. What did the man have on her to make her act the way she did around him. She felt like a hormone stricken teenager in his presence. She thought back trying to remove her emotions from what had just happened. He was so intense, so passionate, and he sounded so despondent when he left her. Was Serena right? Was there something more than pure physical attraction there? There may have been, but now… she would not be able to look him in the eye again. 'Crap!' With a sigh she checked the time and headed down to dinner hoping against hope that he wouldn't be there.

Hermione took a seat as far away from Severus' normal spot as she could when she arrived for dinner. She schooled her emotions and attempted to have normal conversation with the nearest professors who were beginning to trickle in. When Severus arrived, she looked up briefly catching his eye before she blushed and lowered her eyes to her plate. She spent the rest of the evening avoiding anything that would make her look in his direction and fervently trying to ignore him altogether. Even though she was sure he was attempting to do the same, the tension in the room between them was almost suffocating and definitely uncomfortable for all around them.

Serena couldn't help but being puzzled about the sudden animosity between two Professors who were her closest friends. She leaned over to Hermione and asked softly, "what happened? Did you talk to him?"

Hermione snorted as she played with her food. "You could say that."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you later." Hermione put her fork down and excused herself from dinner.

Serena got up and went after her and noticed out of the corner of her eye Severus watching Hermione with a sad expression on his usually stoic countenance.

"Hermione…wait up!" Serena jogged to catch up with her. "What did you mean by that?"

Hermione pulled her by the hand to her rooms. Once safely ensconced in Gryffindor tower Hermione looked anxiously at Serena. "Sorry, but these walls have ears. You might want to sit while I tell you what happened."

Serena quirked an eyebrow and sat in a squishy armchair in Hermione's living room. "Ok…So?"

"So… Severus is great in bed. Well not exactly BED but he's a good shag." Hermione muttered and curled up dejectedly on her own squishy chair.

"WHAT?!" Serena shot forward in the chair to look Hermione in the eye. "What do you mean? What happened after I left you?"

Hermione recounted what happened until she reached the dungeons, "Then when he let me in and I started yelling he got upset and…then we—shagged." She finished lamely.

Serena started to speak then stopped, rethinking what she was going to say, "Wh—how did you—so what you are telling me is; you figured out that you DO fancy him, and you went to talk to him to explain why you were upset. But you got angry and felt hurt about being "rejected" and you blew up at him. Am I getting this right so far?" At Hermione's nod she continued. "So you started yelling at him, and he yelled back, then you just…?" She made a motion with her hands to convey what she was trying to say.

"That's about it." She put her head down on her knees which were drawn up to her chest.

"How EXACTLY did THAT happen?" She was completely stumped at this point.

"Well I sort of forced myself on him."

"Hermione, Severus is a fairly large man, compared to you, who is completely capable of taking on several adversaries at one time; I doubt that he wouldn't have been able to defend himself if he REALLY didn't want to sleep with you. So then what EXACTLY happened?"

"Well then why did he sound so repulsed after we were done?" She bit her lip.

"Give me a blow by blow recount."

"Serena!"

"Not for the entertainment factor, just so I can figure this out."

Hermione explained exactly and in detail everything that had happened until he stormed out. "Serena, I've never felt anything so…right. Well besides the fact that it was wrong. It was so…"

"Perfect?" She offered.

"Yes." Hermione was staring at a point over Serena's shoulder thinking of him. "I want more. But that's never going to happen now." She shook herself and looked sadly at the other woman.

"Have you thought that maybe he sounded so--"

"Disgusted."

"Ok, your word, not mine; he sounded so disgusted because he was mad at himself? That maybe he hadn't wanted to hurt you or maybe he wanted more than just a physical relationship with you? But he was so attracted to you that he couldn't help reacting the way he did? Because lets face it, if he wanted you not to touch him, you wouldn't have been able to, and from the sound of things, he was fairly in control of the situation."

"No, I hadn't." Hermione thought about it a little, "What did I do? Serena, how do I fix it?"

"I'll figure something out. Just don't corner him again until I have a plan... So he is good then?"

Hermione blushed and nodded, "you have no idea."

For the next several weeks, Hermione and Severus did a fairly good job of avoiding one another. So good in fact, that the rest of the staff became curious as to what had transpired between them to make them act that way when they had appeared so friendly that first night back. They had all asked Albus what he thought of the situation individually, so the day that the students would be returning home, Albus requested that Serena come to his office for a little chat.

Serena arrived in the Headmaster's office promptly at the arranged time and sat rather nervously. Albus smiled benignly at her over his half-moon spectacles, eyes a-twinkling. "My dear, you have no reason to be nervous. I was just curious if you had any knowledge about what is going on with Hermione. You two seem to have become so close."

Serena heaved a sigh of relief. She had been playing matchmaker back and forth between Hermione and Severus and was getting nowhere. She had just about ready to get Albus involved when he summoned her to him. "I'm really glad you asked because they are driving me insane!" Serena told him everything she knew about the situation. "But Severus won't talk to me as freely or candidly as Hermione does, so I'm afraid I've reached an impasse. Please for the love of the gods help me, Albus, I'm an amateur at this."

Albus chuckled at the obviously frazzled professor. "Yes Severus isn't one to 'spill his guts' to anyone. So just to clarify they both have feelings for one another, and are too thick to realize it, yes?" At Serena's affirmative nod Albus leaned forward and began conspiring with the younger professor. This would be entertaining to say the least.

Hermione was running late to the start of the term feast. The students were already on the carriages as she rushed to the Great Hall. When Hermione entered she froze. The only empty seat was next to Severus, and as he was sitting with his arms crossed and scowling, she didn't think he was to happy about the arrangement either. Hermione took a deep breath and walked with as much dignity as she could muster to her seat. "Severus." She acknowledged him as she sat.

Severus knew that that old fool was somehow behind this. He had entered the hall, and every other professor except he and Hermione had made it, and they were all looking at him with feigned innocence as he noticed only two empty seats next to one another. 'Bloody, meddling, bothersome, old codger.' Severus sat, crossing his arms over his chest, glaring at the table as if it had just done him some great injustice. He knew the moment that she entered the hall because the rest of the staff became quiet, where they had been chattering a moment before. 'Daft old man, why must you continue to push my mistakes in my face?' Severus snapped out of his brood when she addressed him. He was surprised how soft her voice was when she spoke his name, and the tone of her voice caused him to look at her. "Hermione… good evening." He noticed she seemed unusually nervous around him. 'Why shouldn't she be? You did force yourself on her.'

Hermione chanced a look and a small smile at him. "Yes it is." She blushed and looked away.

'Interesting' Severus noted that her nervousness although it was because of him, it was not begot of fear. He knew how she acted when she was afraid of someone; she had once feared him. He was distracted then by the miscreant student body loudly entering the hall and beginning to take their places. He sighed and muttered softly, "And it starts."

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle at Severus' comment and the utterly hopeless voice he said it in. "Another 'fun' filled year, Severus."

"Oh, yes, I always enjoy almost getting blown up on a regular basis, how about you?" He deadpanned. Her chuckles made the knots in his stomach loosen, and he felt himself relaxing and adjusting to her amiable presence, against his better judgment.

The night went as smoothly, if not more so, than any other start of the year feast that Hermione had ever attended. She had been introduced to the student body and had to hide her chuckles as Severus quietly groaned in anguish as a first year who was obviously a Weasley offspring was sorted into her house. The entire night had been lovely. She and Severus talked in a limited but friendly fashion. She almost felt that they might be able to at least become friends. But even now, weeks later, and in the quiet confines of her private quarters she couldn't help but remember the feel of his hands on her. It was going to be a long year.

Severus was prowling the corridors of the school. He was probably the only living creature inside the castle that was awake, besides maybe a few house-elves. It was nearly Halloween, and thus far he and Hermione hadn't had much contact with one another. They had sat together at meals a few times and Head-of-house meetings. Maybe had one or two conversations in the staff room, but beyond that they had successfully managed to avoid any other contact with each other, and he found that he craved contact with her. He found himself wandering outside her rooms for the umpteenth time in the last few weeks and sighed. 'Damn the insufferable woman,' he thought tenderly. She was the reason he was awake. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her since that day in his office. When he awoke in the middle of the night it was at the memory of her touch, her scent. When he found himself daydreaming, which was rare but it happened; it was her face that he was thinking of. Even though he despised himself for what he had done, he couldn't help feeling as if she had stolen some part of his soul that day. Since that day in his office he felt more empty than he ever had, and he had found that just being close to her helped him feel a little more…whole.

Serena and Hermione were in Serena's rooms in Ravenclaw tower getting ready for the Halloween ball. Hermione had worked tirelessly on the decorations since earlier this afternoon and now she needed help from Serena to figure out a costume. She and Serena were closer now than ever. The other woman had helped Hermione come to terms with the 'Severus ordeal' as they called it now, as it was still a topic of weekly conversation. "You know, Serena, if I didn't know better I would think Albus has been made aware of the status of the Severus ordeal." Hermione spoke as she was smoothing down the robes that they had just transfigured.

"Why would you say that?" Serena managed to sound innocent as she began transfiguring accessories to match the costume.

"Oh, maybe because he has assigned Severus and I to chaperone the N.E.W.T. level students to an advanced charms and potions applications seminar in London just before Christmas." Hermione fixed her friend with a stare waiting for her reply.

"Well honestly that makes since because you are the Charms professor and he is a Potions Master, why wouldn't you two go together?"

"I know, but I got the hotel reservations today and Dumbledore only booked the two of us a single hotel room."

Serena laughed "No way! That's hilarious… Really, I wonder how Severus feels about that." Serena started applying Hermione's makeup still feigning innocence.

"So you didn't tell him?"

"Well…"

"Serena!" Hermione put her hands on her hips.

"Oh come on Hermione. I told you I'd think of something," she smiled and winked at her friend. "Speaking of the cranky bat, he's going to lose it when he sees you tonight, you are…Angelic."

Hermione smirked as she surveyed their combined handiwork; they had made her an Angel costume complete with real wings that she could flap and a glowing halo that hovered over her head. Serena on the other hand was going as a demon. Hermione had charmed real horns to peek out from Serena's black hair to match the demon tail that swished out from the tight black and red robes. They finished up quickly and made their way to the already over-full hall. As they entered the room went still.

Severus had been speaking with Albus and Professor Alexander Karrakas, the muggle studies Professor, who was a post-term start addition to the staff. The other professor had suddenly decided to retire after he had been attacked by some muggle contraption and explained it as 'ekelricty'. His eyes went to the door as the students hushed their incessant chatter and he stopped in mid-sentence. She took his breath away. Hermione was the embodiment of the word Angel; her robes were made of some flowing silvery material that was actually emitting a soft glow. It was as if she had taken the moon and made it into a dress. Her halo was hovering over her hair, which she wore loose for the first time since the students had arrived at the school. And next to her, Serena was no less stunning as her inverse, but he only had eyes for Hermione.

"Wow," was the only thing Alex was able to say, and Severus nodded in agreement still not able to speak.

"They make me wish I was your age, gentlemen. Have a wonderful evening." Albus chuckled as he patted them on the shoulders. The students broke into applause for their professors who had the best costumes they had seen so far.

Hermione and Serena curtsied at the entrance acknowledging the applause before making their way to the other professors who immediately began admiring their co-worker's costumes. The ball began with a formal dinner as usual before the costume judging, and the dancing.

Once the food was done and the awards for best costume were handed out, Dumbledore vanished the house tables, replacing them with smaller tables for two or four placed around the walls of the hall and he dimmed the lights. Only then did everyone get the full effect of Hermione's decorations. She had charmed three hundred jack-o-lanterns to float above the dance floor giving off an eerie blue light and also a rolling mist that was collecting on the floor like fog, but not rising above the students' ankles. She had transfigured several suits of armor into skeletons and, with Albus' help they now were acting as waiters carrying trays of refreshments along the outside of the dance floor. Indestructible cobwebs served as table linens, and very real looking and acting faux-crows were circling the ceiling and perching where they could.

The music started and immediately several male students swooped in on Hermione and Serena asking for dances. Hermione had been dancing for nearly an hour with different students; Severus stood half in shadow just watching her. Serena noticed the subject of Severus' vigil and asked him to dance. Once on the floor, Serena tilted her head and spoke, "well, are you going to ask her to dance?"

"She's already dancing."

"Oh and you think she enjoys dancing with that boy who keeps stepping on her feet? A few more minutes and she'll be left with a permanent limp."

Severus looked down at Serena. "Well when you put it that way." He smirked and asked, "you wouldn't mind?"

"Go before I have to hex you!"

Severus threaded his way through the dancing couples and tapped her partner on the shoulder. "May I cut in?" The fifth year Hufflepuff boy who had been dancing with her paled and stuttered his permission. As the boy moved away from her, the song ended and moved into a slower song. Severus smiled at her and held out his hand. "May I have this dance Professor?"

"I would be delighted, Professor." Hermione replied with a smile and placed her hand in his. As he bowed he brushed her knuckles with his lips. She smiled a bit wider and executed a perfect curtsey. Severus pulled her close enough to put one hand on her waist, and so that she could place her hand on his shoulder. As they started to dance, everything else faded. They hadn't noticed several students whispering about what a pair they made.

"Your costume is…you are breath taking Hermione."

His voice was low and soft so that no one would hear him, but as a result, Hermione couldn't hear him either and she told him so.

Severus smiled and pulled her close so that their chests were touching and he could lean down and whisper in her ear. "I said, you are breathtaking."

Hermione shivered in pleasure as his breath warmed her skin, and she pulled back just enough to smile up at him, "Thank you, Severus." She felt herself flush just a bit as she leaned back in to whisper in his ear, "You are very handsome, you know; tonight and every night." She felt him chuckle slightly as they continued to dance.

"You always were a bad liar."

"But I wasn't--" she started to protest.

"I know. That's why I was laughing."

"Fishing for more compliments are we?" Hermione teased. It felt so right for him to hold her like this. She wished they could go on forever like this.

He pulled back to look into her eyes, "no." He wasn't going to give her a straight answer, but when their eyes met, their gaze held. He felt, in that moment, as if everything made sense. And he longed to kiss her again, but he became aware that the song was ending. He pulled reluctantly away from her and kissed her hand again before he swept away.

Hermione walked off of the floor and sought out Serena, suddenly feeling chills even though she was hot. She found her friend shamelessly flirting with the new professor, Alex. "Alex… Serena, can I borrow you for a moment?" She smiled at her friend.

Serena turned to Alex, "just give me a moment?"

He smiled at the pair telling them that he'd be back in a few minutes with drinks.

"Ok, you have me. By the by, you and Severus cut an impressive couple if I do say so. The rest of the hall thought so too, judging by the swooning girls and their scowling partners."

"I was just trying to make sure I wasn't imaging it." Hermione glanced around the crowd looking for him. She felt a twinge of disappointment when she couldn't find him. "I think I'm going to get some air, let me know when the dance is getting ready to end." Serena told her that she'd find her when it was almost over, and Hermione made her way outside. She stepped out into the cool night air and walked through some of the gardens. She stopped in a small courtyard and absently looked out over the grounds before she became aware of someone behind her. She smiled as his scent came to her, "fancy meeting you here." Se spoke before turning around to face him.

Severus had watched Hermione walk through the gardens he had escaped to almost laughing that she seemed to have read his mind. When she addressed him he did smile. "You caught me." She turned to face him, her back to the moon, and she looked less like an angel and more like the moon goddess herself. His breath caught in his chest as he drew nearer. "You need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?" Hermione was confused. She leaned on a balcony-like rail that was now at her back.

"Taking my breath away," he said simply. He drew level with her and leaned on the rail as well, his arms supporting his weight on the marble. He looked out over the grounds and smiled to himself, he couldn't have planned this view for this conversation even if he were a romance novelist. The small balcony they were on was completely lit by moonlight and ensconced in roses. They were close enough to the school, where they could still hear the music clearly, but far enough away that very few people would come across them. He looked at her again, with a smile that she had learned was for her and her alone, now that he was right there next to her, their arms brushing.

Hermione was flattered, to say the least. That was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her. "You are a complex man, Severus," she murmured, more to herself than to him, as she turned to the grounds and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. She was glad she was again on the receiving end of his attention, but she wasn't quite sure how. All she knew is that in this moment, everything was in perfect order in the universe. Her actions were directed by what she felt not what she thought.

"Then I am in good company Hermione." He sighed contentedly as she cuddled up to him. He knew that soon there would be questions and awkward explanations due from both of them, but right now in this moment they had achieved a peace that only a man and a woman who had intimate knowledge of each other could have. He didn't know how long they stood like that, but he tensed as Serena's voice called from directly behind them.

"I'm sorry for interrupting Severus, Hermione; the dance is going to end in a few moments… Sorry" The other professor hurried away.

Severus sighed and turned to Hermione who was looking as disappointed as he felt. "Shall we?" He offered her his arm. They walked back to the castle in silence and left each other's company at the entrance to the hall, rounding up their respective students.

After all of the students were in their dorms, Hermione had removed most of her costume, she only left the robes on, but she reversed the glowing spell. She started making her rounds of the castle looking for any errant students still lurking in the halls. She stopped at a window near the astronomy tower and leaned on the sill thinking of Severus. She had to admit that he was becoming something of an obsession for her. When she was with him she felt excited and content at the same time. When she wasn't with him, she longed to be. She sighed and jumped slightly as arms came around her from behind. She relaxed into them as their owner spoke.

"This is the second time I've found you like this tonight; I am beginning to think that you are stalking me." Severus looked outside over her head and she turned then to look at him.

"I do believe I was here first, just like in the gardens." Hermione giggled as he looked down at her and raised his eyebrow.

"That's where you are wrong. Just because you didn't see me doesn't mean I wasn't there." He looked down into her eyes as she continued to smile back at him. He felt his skin warm as he looked his fill. Her eyes were a luminous complex brown with gold flecks. She had a few freckles on her nose, but other than that her skin was flawless. Her lips were full and slightly parted; very kissable.

Hermione felt her pulse increase as she watched him study her. Her breath nearly died away as she saw his eyes come to rest on her lips. He looked back at her then, his jet black eyes burning with passion. She slid her hands up from where they rested on his upper arms, to his shoulders then around his neck. He saw him smile slightly before he leaned in and kissed her. This kiss was very much like the first one they had shared; soft, and tender. The only difference was that now that she was sober, she felt as if she were drunk. As he kissed her, her head spun and her knees went weak.

He felt Hermione melt into him as they kissed and he held her even closer when he became aware that her legs might not hold her. Her mouth was like wine, warm and potent; leaving him thirsting for more. He wasn't sure who broke the kiss, but when he looked at her he couldn't help wanting more. The only time he felt whole was when they were together, like this. He kissed her lips again, then her forehead, then her cheeks and her jaw line before returning once again to her mouth. As their mouths and tongues were locked in a battle that neither could lose, he stiffened. He spun around at the noise, and paled as a giggling yet disheveled Serena and Alexander waved at him and Hermione.

Hermione looked around Severus, as his first instinct was to protect her by using himself as a shield, and saw the other two professors.

Serena tried to smooth her hair down a bit from the mess it had become "Hiya folks!" She giggled again trying to hide her blush as the four professors stood there awkwardly.

"What are you doing here?" Severus asked

"We could ask you two the same thing." Serena smiled, "but we won't tell if you won't."

Severus relaxed a little and inclined his head in agreement. The four professors stood in awkward silence for a moment before Hermione squeezed Severus' arm. "Well, that does it for me, I'm off to bed." She looked at him again and he nodded and smiled wanly.

"I'll walk you down to your rooms. Good evening Serena…Alexander."

The other couple bid them good night and Hermione squeezed his arm again, "Well at least it wasn't a student." She giggled again.

Severus sighed and nodded. When they got to her doorstep, he kissed her chastely on the lips and whispered "Goodnight Hermione. Sweet dreams," before he walked away.

Hermione smiled as she watched him walk back toward the dungeons. She decided that she was going to have him after all. Yep she wanted the cranky bat all to herself; she was going to seduce Severus Snape…again.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hermione and Serena sat in front of a fire in Serena's sitting room in Ravenclaw tower. They were happy it was a weekend, and neither of them had to be 'on duty' tonight. They had decided to have a girls' night in; they were currently in their pajamas sipping wine and snacking on desserts and fruit while they talked.

Serena was spouting her praises for the new professor, Alex. Hermione couldn't deny that he was attractive, but he looked like he belonged in Witch Weekly and Hermione was violently reminded of Gildroy Lockhart. Alex was of Greek decent, and he looked it; his dark brown hair curled over his ears and stopped just shy of his collar. His skin was a flawless olive to match his almond eyes, and he was built like a professional footballer. He was apparently the new heart-throb of Hogwarts, but it didn't affect his personality; he was still down to earth, and Serena was completely enamored.

"He is the nicest, sexiest, man I've ever been with. And he's actually intelligent!" Serena giggled as she nibbled on a chocolate covered strawberry. "You know, on Halloween…the astronomy tower?"

Hermione laughed, "how could I forget? I think Severus was a nano-second from hexing you two for interrupting us. What about it?"

"Well let's just say he is dexterous, and has soft hands." Serena wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"So are you two actually a couple now?"

"Yeah. Well at least I hope so since he wants me to go meet his family on Summer break."

"Wow, that's fast."

"I don't care, there's nothing fast about him…eh" She nudged Hermione.

"Oh that was bad!"

"I know. So how are you and Severus coming along?" She drank some more wine as she asked the question.

"Slowly. I've decided that I want him all to myself, but I have no idea on how to approach him about it." Hermione stopped speaking as an owl tapped on Serena's window. She let the creature in and noticed that the envelope was addressed to her, and that the messenger was waiting for a response. She smiled as she recognized his penmanship. "It's from Severus."

"Well, what does it say?"

"He wants to talk."

"Uh-oh… I feel the 'where-is-this-going' talk coming on… Well hell, invite him up. I'll floo Alex, we'll make it a get-together."

Hermione shrugged and replied to the letter asking him to join them in Ravenclaw tower when he received the note for wine with friends. After sending the owl on its way, she transfigured her pajamas into a comfortable, but sexy little black dress.

"Oh, good idea!" Serena transfigured her own outfit into a pair of black slacks and a red tank top. They cleaned the area up a bit leaving the snacks and wine out. They were done tidying up just in time for the floo to flare up, and Severus stepped from the flames.

Severus smiled in greeting, "Ladies." He offered Serena the bottle of wine he had brought with him and stepped off of the hearth.

Hermione smiled at him. He was dressed similarly to the way he was that first night in the Three Broomsticks. "Severus," she stepped toward him and kissed his cheek in greeting.

"Hi Severus, thanks for the wine."

"I thought you two might need another bottle." He chuckled as he looked at the spread, and the half empty bottle on the table.

Alex arrived shortly thereafter and the foursome sat with their wine listening to the soft jazz music that Serena had put on her wireless. Hermione and Severus sat on one loveseat, his arm around the back of the furniture, again reminiscent of the start of term outing, while Serena and Alex shared a large armchair. The four laughed and joked together, completely at ease with each other as they sipped their way through two more bottles of wine. Hermione found that she did like the new muggle studies professor; he was witty and intelligent as Serena had said, and she was amused when he and Severus got into a debate over whether or not Albus and Minerva were together.

"Come on Severus! They are so close, they have to be seeing one another!"

"Nope." Severus had a light behind his eyes that Hermione recognized as a mischievous glint.

"Severus, you know something!" Hermione turned and pointed a finger into his chest accusingly.

"You are correct."

"Oh come on--"

"Spill it--"

"What--" Three eager voices bombarded him at once and for the first time that any of them could remember real laughter erupted from him. His laughter was rich and deep, coming from deep within his chest.

"Calm down; I'll tell you." He continued to chuckle as they all leaned toward him in suspense. "Minerva and Albus are not together." He looked at Hermione smirking, drawing out the possession of his knowledge before he succumbed to her prompting look. "They are not together, because Minerva is with Pomona. She is a lesbian."

Hermione's mouth dropped in disbelief, "No."

Serena laughed, "You're joking!"

Alex pouted at his theory being shot to hell in a single sentence.

"I assure you, I am not joking." Severus sipped his wine again, before leaning forward to pour himself another glass. He topped off Hermione's glass before he set the bottle down, letting the news sink in.

"How do you know?" Hermione cocked her head to the side as she looked at him.

Severus sat back, his arm once more going around her shoulders. "My dear Hermione, I have been at this school, for more years then I care to count, both as a student and a teacher, trust me. You learn things here, whether you want to or not." The four laughed at this new revelation.

Alex had watched the other two professors from afar since Halloween, and with the way they were flirting with each other tonight, his curiosity got the better of him. "So, then, are you two together?" Alex suddenly felt like he had just walked into a crowd shouting 'long live Voldemort!' as three pairs of eyes stared at him trying to figure out how to answer that question.

"Alex, dear, I need to get another bottle of wine from the kitchen…will you help me?" Serena recovered first, grabbing his hand and dragging him into the other room so she could quickly, but quietly let him in on the situation.

Hermione looked up at Severus as if searching for an answer to the lingering question.

Severus smiled down at her, "that's what I wanted to talk to you about tonight."

"Oh… well, what do you think?" She nervously chewed her lip.

Severus chuckled, soothing her lip with his thumb. "Don't look so worried. Let's talk about it later." He motioned to the still empty seats of their companions.

Hermione gave him a small smile and nodded "ok."

Severus chuckled again and kissed her lips chastely to alleviate some of her obvious stress. "Not to worry love, we'll figure it out."

"Severus…" Hermione stopped when Serena and a slightly subdued Alex rejoined them.

"I apologize, that was an uncouth question."

"Don't worry about it." Severus glanced at Hermione with a small smile.

"More wine?" Serena held up a fresh bottle.

"Gods, yes!" Hermione reached for the bottle and put a fresh topper on her glass. It took no longer than a space of a single glass of wine for them to get back into their playful banter. Another bottle of wine later Hermione looked at the time. "I should really be getting back to the Gryffindor tower. Heavens only know what my little cubs have been up to." Hermione got up and put on her slippers.

Severus got up as well, "I have to get going too." He looked at Hermione to see if she'd gotten her things together. "I'll walk you back."

"Ok, well this was fun. We need to do this again sometime." Serena smiled at them. "Don't let filch catch you!" She chuckled as Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I swear that idiot still thinks I'm a student," she huffed.

"Don't worry about Argus. I own him."

"What, did he sell his soul to you, Severus?" Serena wrinkled her nose in humor.

"Yes, perhaps we haven't met. I'm the devil, but you may call me Satan." Severus quipped as he stuck his hand out.

"That explains a lot!" Serena dissolved into laughter.

Hermione chuckled shaking her head, "Ok, well come on Satan. I want to get in at a decent hour."

Once at her quarters, Hermione invited Severus in so that they could talk. "Make yourself comfortable," she smiled a little nervously. "Tea?"

"Please." Severus looked around her quarters, and was not surprised that they were only a feminine version of his own; well, apart from the fact that they were above ground. He sat on her couch and accepted the cup that she had conjured for him. Hermione smiled nervously at him as she sat beside him. Severus watched her fiddle with the china. "Why are you so nervous?"

Hermione let out a short mirthless laugh. "I'm not quite sure." She heaved a sigh, "so you wanted to talk?"

He nodded as he sat back against the couch. Sudden inspiration struck him. "Why were you so mad that day you came to my office?"

Hermione knew without doubt which day he was speaking about, and she frowned trying to remember. "I—was hurt and confused." She raised her eyes to meet his as she tried to figure him out. "I didn't understand why you wouldn't sleep with me…I still don't. Severus, I am attracted to you, and I want to be able to act on that. And that night, I felt like someone was playing a cruel trick on me."

Severus nodded and set his cup down on her coffee table. "I think I understand a little better now." He sighed and folded his hands thinking of how he wanted to phrase what he wanted to say. "I'm sorry about how that particular… discussion ended." He looked into her eyes.

"I'm not." As he looked at her in surprise she sat forward a bit so their knees were touching, and she could reach out and take his hand. "Severus, I'm sorry if my temper resulted in me pushing you to that, but that IS what I wanted after all."

Severus tried not to sound disappointed, "What about what I want?"

Hermione was shocked. Serena had told her stories of how Severus had become something of a playboy since his divorce had been finalized. She thought that he was not in the market for a relationship. "What do you want?" Her voice was a whisper.

He smiled as he brushed a rebellious piece of hair from her face, "I should think that was obvious. I want you."

Hermione brought her hand up to her face to clasp his hand in hers as she dropped her eyes. "No you don't. I'm no god for you Severus, I'll just hold you back."

Severus went still. Who had put that idea in her head? "What makes you think that?"

She merely shrugged sadly in response.

"Hermione, look at me." When her eyes met his he could see that they were a little watery. "You could never hold me back. And if you haven't noticed, I'm a better person when I'm around you; because of you. You are the most talented and most intelligent person I've ever met, and you are the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on. You would not hold me back, Hermione." As he finished a tear escaped from her eye and made its way down her cheek, he wiped it away with his thumb.

"Severus… I don't want to burden you--"

"Hermione," he admonished. "When you care about someone the way I care about you, they could never be a burden on you."

"I—don't know what to say."

"Hermione, I want you. Not just to sleep with you, I—need you." He swallowed, it was very hard for him to admit that, even to her. Especially to her.

Hermione managed a watery smile, "Severus, I--" She stopped suddenly as an urgent rap sounded on her door. Hermione motioned for him to stay as she wiped her eyes and went to the door. She was surprised to see one of her Gryffindor prefects standing nervously outside.

"Professor… one of the first years is very ill, we can't figure out what's wrong with her."

Hermione moved quickly to grab her wand off the coffee table, "Severus, come with me, I may need some help."

They made their way quickly through the common room which was fairly full for being one o'clock in the morning. The students who were already upset over the first year, went dead silent as Severus came through the portrait hole. The head of Slytherin was not only in their sanctuary, but he was not dressed as they had always seen him. A few of the older students immediately began to whisper. Severus fixed them with a glare that rendered them silent as he followed Hermione up the stairs. They went to the first year's side to see what was wrong. Severus recognized he symptoms immediately. "She's been poisoned." He glanced around for any bottles as Hermione questioned her room mates.

"Did any of you see her eat or drink anything?"

"Yes, professor." A tiny girl who reminded Severus of Hermione when she was that age piped up and handed Severus a bottle. "She drank this about twenty minutes ago. Professor Snape she's been throwing up every five minutes if that helps you."

Severus nodded and sniffed the bottle carefully before he looked at the label. 'Beauty in a bottle' He used his fingernail to see if the label would peel. The beauty label peeled away to reveal the real label. "Dragon's blood." He looked up at Hermione sharply. Before he moved to the student's side feeling her skin. "We still have time."

Hermione paled, "Severus, isn't that fatal when ingested by itself?"

He nodded as he pulled out his wand, "Accio satchel!" He looked at a first year, "open that window girl and step back!"

The girl did as she was told and a second later a satchel flew through the window. Severus caught it and set the bag next to the ill child digging for the antidote. He pulled out a jar of phoenix tears and immediately transfigured a quill into a syringe. "The poison is too advanced to administer this orally." He informed Hermione. He loaded the needle and rolled the girl on to her side exposing her hip. He quickly cleaned the area of her skin and inserted the needle, injecting the girl. Within seconds he could tell that the antidote was fighting the poison. He rolled the child onto her back. "Ms. Pratt, can you hear me?"

The girl looked stricken as she saw her fearsome Potions Professor, "y-y-yes sir."

"Where did you get that potion?"

"Sir?"

"The beauty potion that you took. Where did you get it?"

"F-f-from Sandra Clime, sir."

Severus nodded, he was not surprised that the girl had named a seventh year Slytherin whom he knew to be dabbling in the dark arts. "Thank you, Ms. Pratt. Might I suggest that from now on you purchase your beauty products from an established venue?" He turned to the first year that reminded him of Hermione, "Ms. Dale, I believe Ms. Pratt owes you her life. Ten points to Gryffindor, for noting the correct symptoms of a poisoning, another five for keeping the bottle, and twenty points for using logic in the face of danger."

Hermione hid a small smile as she waved her wand to clear the mess away. "Severus, I'm going to take Ms. Pratt to the hospital wing."

He nodded, "I'll meet you there after I've talked with Ms. Clime." Severus waved his wand, and his patronus sprung from the tip. He sent it to Albus to inform him that there would be a student in his office briefly.

Severus arrived in the hospital wing in less than twenty minutes. "How is she?" He asked Hermione who had just walked out from behind the curtain.

"She's fine, she'll rest here tonight. How is Ms. Clime faring?"

"Ms. Clime is no longer a student at this school." Severus looked again at the bottle in his hands and shook his head. "How are you?"

Hermione sighed, "tired. Thank you, for what you did."

He smiled, "you are welcome."

Hermione stepped closer to him and put a hand on his arm, "I'm heading back to Gryffindor, would you care to join me? I need to make sure nobody else bought beauty products from Ms. Clime."

He nodded and walked back with her. They were both silent on the trek back, lost in their own thoughts. He barely noticed that they had made it to the common room before they went through the portrait.

As Hermione suspected, all of Gryffindor was in the common room trading stories of what had just happened. Hermione cleared her throat and the students quieted. "Has anyone else bought any potions from Sandra Clime?" A few girls raised their hands and Hermione's look darkened. "Bring them to me." Her tone brokered no argument, and several girls disappeared into their dorms and came back with an array of 'potions.' Severus inspected the bottles and shook his head looking at Hermione. "Every single one."

"Excuse me professor, but 'every single one' what? We paid for those potions."

Severus slowly looked up and glared at the fourth year that had spoken. "Poison. Every single one is a form of poison." He waved his wand and the lot of the poisons zoomed away down the hall.

The Gryffindors looked stricken. Hermione sighed, "all right, back to bed. If any of you wants to buy any potions from now on, you go directly to the source to get them." She and Severus left the common room and Hermione shook her head. Severus walked with her back to her room. Hermione looked around ensuring they were alone before she spoke. "Severus?"

He looked at her inquiringly, "yes?" The night was starting to catch up to him, and he had begun to feel tired. When he met her eyes, his drowsiness quickly dissipated.

"Stay with me tonight?"

He smiled and nodded, "of course."

Hermione led him into her bedroom by the hand after warding her door. She turned to him and moved close resting her head on his chest. There was no need for words now. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. He would have been content to stay like this all night, but Hermione moved her hands from his back to his stomach and began slowly unfastening the buttons on his shirt. Severus watched her slowly remove his shirt, and his muscles clenched as first her hands then her lips explored his exposed flesh. They undressed each other without speaking, taking their time; savoring each other. Once they were both naked, Severus picked her up and gently set her on the bed lying on top of her, supporting his weight on one elbow. He kissed her then slowly as he trailed one hand from her cheek down her body to her knee, then back up to circle her waist just holding her to him.

They made love, trying to show each other just how treasured the other was. They lingered over spots that they had found in their first rendezvous, each trying to show the other that they could cherish and give, not just be cherished. Hermione thought her heart might break at the beauty of how they could love one another. When they coasted over the top together, Hermione whispered his name. It was the first word spoken between them since they had entered her quarters.

When they came down from their high, Severus pulled the blankets over them and held Hermione against his chest. He kissed the top of her head as she cuddled into him. For the first time since the start of term, they both slept soundly wrapped in one another's embrace.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hermione woke the early the next morning. Her head was pillowed on Severus' chest, and the only way she could tell that he was awake, was that he was gently trailing his fingers along her shoulder and back with the arm that was behind her. She smiled as she watched his face. His eyes were still closed, and seemed completely relaxed. She smiled and kissed his chest. "Good morning."

Severus slowly opened his eyes to look at her. "Morning," He moved his arm to draw her closer to him. "Did you sleep well?"

Hermione grinned mischievously. She stretched languidly before maneuvering herself on top of him and sitting up. "As well as can be expected with a great lump of a man like you smothering me," She leaned over him brushing her lips against his. "I slept better than I have in years. You?"

Severus gave her a lop-sided smile, and nodded, "same." His hands started teasing the flesh of her hips and stomach. He watched her face and couldn't help thinking that this was the most beautiful that he had ever seen her. She still had sleep in her eyes, and her hair was mussed; there was nothing between them but air and her eyes were a tawny gold with, what? Desire? Affection? Lust? He couldn't tell, but he found himself reacting to the small rhythmic moves she was making with her hips. His pulse quickened, and his flesh became hot as his breathing increased. He stilled her hips with his hands, "Hermione…"

"Severus." She fairly purred his name. She felt his reaction to her pressing against her bottom.

Severus knew what she wanted, but he wanted an answer. He swiftly sat up, wrapping his arms around her waist to steady her. He kissed her several times rushing kisses along her face and neck. "Have you thought about what I told you?" His voice was thick with nerves and desire both physical and emotional.

Hermione smiled and lifted his face. "I thought I'd given you an answer… No?" She leaned forward and kissed him with everything she had. When she pulled back, she looked into his face again. "Does that give you an answer?"

Severus quirked an eyebrow, "so you want to give a relationship a try?" He was trying not to sound as nervous as he felt.

"I would like that, very much."

Severus kissed her deeply, and as he did so, their bodies clashed again. Their ministrations this morning were no less caring then they had been the previous night, but were more urgent. Once they lay spent, panting, in one another's arms, Hermione searched out her clock on the nightstand.

"We have to get ready for breakfast!" She shot up as if she had been burned.

"Hermione it's a Saturday." Severus moaned and buried his head in the pillow.

Hermione laughed and slapped him playfully on the bum, "And it's also the Gryffindor, Slytherin Quidditch match. C'mon, let's go."

Severus got up at her urging. They talked briefly about what they should tell everyone, and it was decided by the both of them that it would be best, if they only let Serena and Alex know, until they could figure out where their relationship was heading. So to not arouse any suspicions, Severus flooed back to his rooms to shower and dress before breakfast. Even still he beat her to the Great Hall. He had to try to suppress the smile that wanted to appear on his face as he took his seat at the head table. He mumbled his good mornings to Serena and Alex as he passed them. He did smirk when he noticed that they were both nursing small hang-overs. "You look terrible." He commented to Alex, who was seated next to him. "What did she do to you?"

Alex moaned, "Have mercy, Severus! Do you have any spare hangover potions?"

"What's in it for me?" He asked in a bored tone as he picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet.

Serena leaned over and in an exaggerated whisper said, "I'll let you in on this morning's gossip. You might be interested on what the 'little cubs' are spreading."

Severus sipped a cup of coffee nonchalantly. "I can only imagine. Hermione had a little problem in her House last night that required my attention as well." He stopped and glanced over at Serena before he continued, "I had just dropped her at her rooms, so neither of us had changed. So let me guess; the rumor is that she and I were either on a date, or that we are seeing each other…am I correct?" He had spoken just loud enough for the rest of the eavesdropping staff to hear.

"Damn! Please Severus. Do I have to beg?" She gave him her best puppy face, and in response he simply ignored her. "You are a heart-less prat!"

Hermione walked over to her chair in time for Serena's last statement. She sat next to Severus in the last spot available and looked at Serena, "What did he do now?"

"He's holding out on us! He refuses to let his poor co-workers have any hang-over potions." Serena managed to sound so pitiful, that Hermione openly laughed. "Sorry, I have a few upstairs; I'll get them for you before the match."

"You had to go and ruin the fun, didn't you?" Severus heaved a sigh and produced two potions from his robes handing them to Serena and Alex.

"Severus, you are a doll." Serena downed her potions then amended, "a very creepy and slightly chuckie-esque doll, but a doll none the less."

"What?" Severus was lost. He lowered his paper to look at the other professor.

Serena laughed, "Chuckie is an American muggle thing. They have these moving picture shows, and 'Chuckie' is this homicidal child's play doll…never mind."

Severus shook his head picking his paper back up and taking another long pull from his coffee mug. He smirked as he remembered that the match was today, and turned to Hermione. "So how about a friendly wager on the out-come of the game?"

Hermione smiled behind her tea cup, "Alright, loser buys dinner next week when we are in London for that seminar."

Severus nodded folding up the paper, "alright, but how about adding on to that? I win; you also have to stock Madame Pomfrey's potions for a month."

"Done, but I if win; you have to let me dictate my master's paper to you…no magic. Do we have an accord?" She stuck her hand out to seal the bargin.

Severus smirked and took her hand, "Deal. Too bad you will be to busy stocking potions to work on your paper."

Hermione let out a short laugh, "Oh, poor Severus. Did I not tell you? Harry wrote to me last month and said he wanted to donate new brooms to the Gryffindor team. They're all riding the latest broom…what was it? A Galaxy 12, or something along those lines?"

Severus looked at her in disbelief, "Do you mean to tell me that the entire Gryffindor team is seated on the Galaxy 21? That's the best broom in the world! None of the professional teams even have those yet!"

At Severus' exclamation the entire staff started buzzing, and it didn't take long for the entire school to know what Gryffindor's secret weapon was. Hermione innocently looked at Severus, "Yes, the Galaxy 21…that's what it's called."

Severus shook his head and growled more to himself than anyone else, "Potter."

"Yes Professor?" Harry had just entered the Hall.

Hermione jumped up to give him a hug, "Harry! What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see the match. I helped engineer those brooms, so I wanted to see them in action. Plus I wanted to call on my oldest friend. You are a sight for sore eyes!" He hugged Hermione again and greeted his former professors. Severus sat looking murderous until Hermione nudged him none to gently.

"Potter, what an—unexpected—surprise."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Oh, come off it Severus."

He gave her a look and sighed. "Fine."

The match was a blow-out, to say the least. The Slytherins had nothing that could match the new brooms. The Gryffindor seeker finally ended the match in a mercy killing. "Seven hundred and thirty to none." Severus muttered dejectedly as he, Hermione, Serena, Alex, and Harry made their way back to the castle.

Hermione chuckled and patted his arm consolingly, "All the more points for you to deduct, Severus. So I'll expect you in my rooms at six thirty sharp."

Severus sighed and bowed his head in acknowledgement, "As you wish."

Harry seemed a little confused before Serena spoke, "So you are really going for your masters in charms?"

Hermione nodded, "yes, I'm planning on presenting at the seminar next week. There's no better place for my masters proposal to be presented. The best minds in the world will be there, and it is a learning seminar. So we have our work cut out for us Severus."

Hermione went to her rooms after the match with Harry and Serena, who had also become fast friends, in tow. Once in her quarters she, Harry and Serena caught up on gossip. Harry smiled at Hermione and spoke nervously, "Hermione, we're old friends right? And being such you won't judge me on what I have to say, right?"

Hermione laughed "Of course I won't judge you. What is it?"

"Well, I'm—gay. I'm coming out of the closet." He looked bashful.

"Oh, Harry that's wonderful!"

"Really?"

"Of course, I just want you to be happy." Hermione glanced at Serena before she spoke. "Well as it is a day for confessions, I have one of my own."

Serena perked up, "oooh, does it have something to do with last night?"

At Harry's confused look Hermione laughed, "Patience Serena! But yes, it does." Hermione took a steadying breath and held Harry's hand. "You promise not to storm away?" at his affirmative nod Hermione smiled. "Ok, but just so you know you are both sworn to secrecy about this. Not a peep! Understand?"

"Oh tell us! We won't tell anyone,"

"Yeah, stop stalling! You know I wouldn't tell anyone but Alex, and he'll keep his mouth shut."

Hermione chuckled and shrugged "Ok, well here it goes. Severus and I are pursuing a relationship."

Harry looked shocked. "What?"

Serena squealed and hugged Hermione. "So, it is official then? Oh Harry you should see them together."

Harry did need some convincing, but after Hermione told him the story of what had been going on for the last several months he finally gave in. "So you are telling me that our snarky potions Professor, really has a squishy interior?"

Hermione chuckled, "Well, not squishy, but soft, yes…" Hermione stared off into space for a moment with a soft expression gracing her features.

"Earth to Hermione!" Serena was all smiles, "Daydreaming?"

Hermione smiled back then became serious, "Can I tell you both something else?... I think I could fall in love with him."

All three friends were stunned by her last statement.

Harry was the first to break the ice, "Wow. Well at least tell us…how is he in bed?" He waggled his eyebrows. He continued through the shrieks of laughter. "Seriously, you are dating one of the most notoriously mysterious wizards in all of Europe… You know the dark, brooding, apparently sexy Snape…What's he like?"

Serena leaned forward, "I want to hear this too. I sort of had a little crush on him for like a week when I started teaching here."

Hermione laughed, "No you didn't! Really? Ok…Well he's." Hermione paused trying to think of how describe how Severus was intimately. "You know he'd kill me if he found out I was telling you this, but he's sweet. Really; he's so patient and tender. Passionate. He knows when to take his time and when to not hold anything back, it's as if he can read my mood. And he also has soft hands," Hermione paused and looked at Serena meaningfully.

"So how's his…" Harry gestured to his groin.

"I AM NOT telling you that!"

Harry and Serena pouted.

"Fine, he's…" Hermione held out her hands in measurement.

"No!" Serena's eyes bulged as Hermione nodded to reaffirm the statement.

"Yum!" Harry laughed as Hermione threw a pillow at him.

At precisely six thirty, Severus opened the door to Hermione's quarters, and found her still chatting with Serena and Potter. As he walked further into the room, he noticed Serena giving him a mushy doe-eyed look, and Potter looking at from him head to toe as if measuring him up. He stopped moving, and quirked an eyebrow before He rolled his eyes and turned to Hermione, "You had to tell Potter."

Hermione chuckled and walked over to Severus placing a hand on his arm, "Severus, he's one of my oldest friends, don't you think you can manage to call him by his first name?"

Severus made a noise in his throat, "Did you have to tell Harry?" He managed to grind out the name from between clenched teeth.

Hermione giggled standing on her toes to kiss his cheek, "yes."

"Oh give her a kiss!" Harry and Serena were batting their eyes in the direction of the couple.

Severus was about to growl a nasty comment at the blithering pair when Hermione squeezed his arm. He turned to look at her as she stepped close to him so that their chests were touching. His hands went to her waist automatically as she touched his face.

"Severus, they aren't going to leave you alone until they see you kiss me." She caught her lip between her teeth as he looked at her.

Severus shook his head, "meddlesome idiots" Hermione smiled as she noticed his tone of voice was almost tender and endearing. Severus lifted a hand to cup her cheek and leaned forward murmuring against her lips "they want a show…I must obey." He kissed her softly intending to keep their kiss chaste. But once his lips were on her again, and he felt the spark that he only felt with her run through his body, he deepened the kiss pulling her closer to him.

Hermione felt her legs go weak and her head start spin as Severus kissed her. Her arms went around his neck as she felt him pull her even closer. As he slowly broke the kiss she became aware of the excited whoops and giggles coming from their audience. Hermione blushed as she tried to catch her breath still in his arms. She loved being near him, and even if they were being observed she didn't care. She rested her head on his chest as she looked at her friends, "satisfied?"

Harry was fanning himself with his hand, "oh yeah."

"Ok, you two have to go now, unless you want to watch us work; I have a deadline." Hermione reluctantly pulled away from him as she ushered her two friends out. "We may take a break later. If we do I'll let you know. Oh, Harry, are you staying here this weekend?"

Harry nodded and scampered away with Serena giggling about Hermione and her new beau.

Severus and Hermione worked tirelessly for the next several days on her master proposal. Hermione found that she was doing some of the best work of her career with Severus as her sounding board. He was intelligent enough to grasp the concepts of her paper, and he challenged her points forcing her to explain her theory to him. Their hard work played off when they went to London, students in tow. Hermione's proposal was tried and tested by the few Charms masters in attendance, and she was informed that she would be receiving her masters at Hogwarts on the first day of the new term.

Once the conference was over, Hermione and Severus escorted their students to the Leaky Cauldron where they were dismissed for Christmas break. Once the last student had made their way toward home, and the two were finally alone, Severus wrapped Hermione in his arms. "Congratulations."

Hermione smiled, "Thank you, I couldn't have finished it with out you."

"Yes, you could have." Severus smiled, "But all the same, I was wondering…Do you have plans for the Holidays?"

"Well, I have to make an appearance at my parents' house on Christmas Day. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me, but beside that, no."

Severus held her hand as they negotiated their way through the crowded scene in Diagon Alley. "I would like to meet your parents…But I was curious, if you would like to accompany me to Snape Manor…and meet my mother."

Hermione squeezed his hand, "Yes—I mean…" she was sure she was blushing furiously. She knew that they had only been officially a couple for a few weeks, but she stood by what she had told Serena and Harry; she could fall in love with him. And she thought she might already be. Meeting his mother was a big step. "I would like that, very much." Hermione could hardly contain her excitement before she had a thought, "Severus…?"

When he turned to look at her he noticed the worry lines at her mouth, "What's wrong?"

"You mother is a pure blood?" at his affirmative nod she continued nervously. "Will she like me?—I mean--"

Severus chuckled as she tried to ask politely what was on her mind. "Hermione, my mother will be thrilled to meet you." He squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"But I thought…with me being a muggle born…"

"I never told you about my ex-wife, did I?" When she shook her head Severus continued. "Morgan was a muggle. My mother is very forward thinking, but I'm not sure she ever really approved of me marrying her." He looked into Hermione's eyes. "She didn't want to chance that her grandchildren would be non-magical. But you have nothing to fear, my mother damn near disowned me when I became a deatheater. She is still of a firm belief that a wizard is a wizard no matter their lineage."

Hermione sighed in relief "oh, good."


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Ok this was a REALLY long chapter. Forgive me, but my plot bunnies went wild and I couldn't control them. So forgive my ramblings, and fluffy story line… I couldn't help it.

Also thank you for all of your kind reviews! And don't forget to let me know what you thought of this chapter…I'm living off of your praise at the moment, because I am forgoing sleep to write this ;)

Chapter 6

Hermione and Severus apparated to the edge of Severus' family stronghold, and she stared in awe at the impressive building and grounds of Snape manor. It was massive. The mansion was the crown jewel on the beautiful lush country side. Even in the dead of winter the lawn was immaculately manicured and she could just see the snow capped gardens in the rear of the estate. The manor was in the Welsh countryside and she couldn't help but think that it was a setting of fairy tales. Severus' family home put Malfoy manor easily to shame. She turned to look at Severus, "it's beautiful."

He smiled as he pushed the gate open. A carriage, similar to those employed by Hogwarts, waited for them just inside the gate to take them up the long drive to the house. He opened the door of the carriage and held out his hand to help her inside, "After you."

"Thank you. Wow, Severus…When I was a child I dreamed of one day staying in a place like this." Hermione looked out of the window as the carriage ambled along the drive carrying them closer to the dwelling, and she became increasingly nervous about meeting the Snape matriarch.

Severus glanced at Hermione and saw the telltale signs of her anxiety. She was chewing on her lip, and twisting her hands. He chuckled, "Hermione…calm down. Mum will love you. She can't wait to meet you, but how am I supposed to present you if you are too nervous to anything more than blink at her?"

Hermione smiled as he reached over to take her hand. "Are you sure?"

Severus smiled, "It's rather late for cold feet don't you think?"

Severus helped her out of the carriage and turned at the sound of the massive door opening at his back. He smiled as his mother came onto the stoop to greet them, "Severus!"

Hermione's first impression of the witch in front of them couldn't have been further from what she had been expecting. Mrs. Snape was a very petite witch, smaller than Hermione, and she seemed to be a bundle of energy. Her fly away black hair was sticking out of her loose bun at odd angles. She had a kind smile that reached her eyes which were a brilliant blue; reminiscent of Albus Dumbledore. Hermione smiled shyly as the other witch came toward them.

"Mother," Severus bent to kiss her cheek. "I'd like for you to meet Professor Hermione Granger." He turned toward Hermione as he spoke her name.

"Oh, child, you are beautiful!" Mrs. Snape walked toward Hermione and wrapped her in a warm embrace. "It's wonderful to meet you. I'm so glad that you've come, I've heard a great deal about you."

Hermione blushed slightly at hearing that she'd been discussed between Severus and his mother. Even still, she couldn't help but smiling back at the older witch whose giddiness was contagious. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Snape. Thank you for having me."

"Please, call me, Eileen…or mum. Whichever you feel more comfortable with." Eileen winked at her. "Oh, where are my manners, please come inside."

Hermione giggled at the look on Severus' face as his mother linked her arm through her own, escorting her inside to the cavernous foyer. "Thank you… Eileen."

Hermione looked around the domicile as her eyes adjusted to the light. The décor was an Anglo-French baroque motif, but even through the formality of the style the mansion seemed more than the museum-like atmosphere which most mansions seem to portray. The manor felt lived in. Not just a symbol, but a home. She delicately touched a Louis XVI table that held fresh white roses. She was drawn back to the present by Eileen's voice.

"So, Severus, Hermione…should I assume that you will be sharing a room?" Eileen grinned as Hermione colored to a brilliant shade of pink from her forehead to her neck. "Hermione, I may be old, but I'm not senile or backward thinking."

Severus laughed, "Yes, mum. We will be sharing a room." He put his hands on Hermione's shoulders to comfort her a bit. He knew his mother could be a bit… overwhelming.

Eileen smiled at the two, "what a handsome couple you two make, if you don't mind me saying so."

Hermione smiled at Severus starting to feel a little more at ease the more his mother chattered.

Severus smiled back at Hermione, but addressed his mother. "Mum, I'm going to show Hermione to our rooms."

"Oh, yes. You two might want to freshen up after the long journey." Eileen giggled at her own joke. "Just hurry up, lunch is in a half hour, and I want to get to know Hermione a bit better."

Severus laughed at the near scandalized look on Hermione's face before she started giggling along with his mother.

He took her to their 'rooms' which happened to be a sizable space in the west wing of the mansion. They took their shrunken bags from their pockets and enlarged them, setting them by the dresser. Severus walked over to the massive bed and flopped down on the dark bed linens groaning in pleasure. "I miss this bed."

Hermione chuckled walking over to the bed; she trailed a hand on the plush material. She sat on the edge of the bed and was cut off from speaking as Severus pulled her into the center of the bed where he wrapped his arms around her as he lay half on top of her, half on the soft mattress. She laughed as he nuzzled her neck. "Severus! Your mum told us to be quick."

"Mmhmm." He pressed several kisses along her neck and collarbone, but jerked his head up quickly as the door opened. He stiffened and felt her do the same as they both registered Albus standing in the doorway.

"Sorry, didn't mean to disturb you Severus…Hermione." His eyes twinkled as the two shocked professors stared at him. He walked casually into the room followed by a sheepish looking Mrs. Snape.

"Surprise! You have a visitor." Eileen smirked at the look on her son's face.

"Obviously." Even caught in the precarious situation he was currently in, Severus managed to sound dignified. He sat up on the bed to preserve what was left of his and Hermione's dignity. "And to what do I owe this pleasure, Albus?"

"Oh, I was just in the area…" Albus twinkled annoyingly at the look on Severus' face that plainly portrayed his skepticism. "And I wanted to ask you a question."

Severus moved to the edge of the bed as Hermione sat up and smoothed her robes. "Well as you are here…what do you want?"

Albus laughed "As eloquent as ever… It turns out that we can not have the New Years Eve ball at Hogwarts this year, due to a slight scheduling error on my behalf and I came with a behest that we may have it here."

Severus ran a hand through his hair and looked at his mother.

"It is your house Severus. But I do hope you agree. A ball would be lovely! Snape manor has not opened its doors for such an event in nearly five decades."

"Why not…Albus, I would be—honored—to host the ball." Severus glanced at Hermione who nodded encouragingly.

"Well, we do have a lot of work ahead of us now. Albus you are welcome to stay for lunch, but afterwards I am stealing Hermione from the two of you to plan the ball." Eileen clapped her hands in a very chipper, businesslike manner.

Hermione and Eileen called up the dozen or so House Elves that served the Snapes, although grudgingly for Hermione, to help plan the ball. Eileen explained to Hermione that in pure-blood circles, it was the woman's duty as the hostess of an event like a ball to plan such an occasion. Hermione glanced at the gust list for the ball and noticed that it was a mixed crowd. All of the students and their parents were on the list, as well as several Hogwarts Alumni members, several members of the ministry, and the professors. Hermione muttered a charm on the list, and was shocked to see that the list held about five hundred names. When she had asked Eileen whether or not the manor could accommodate that many Eileen chuckled and took her by the hand to show her the ballroom. If Hermione had been awed by her first glimpse at Snape manor, it was nothing to the wonder she felt when she stepped into the ballroom. The great hall could have fit into the room twice if she had to guess. "It looks like we have our work cut out for us, don't we?" was all she managed to say.

The two women worked easily beside one another for most of the day. Hermione was happy to know that she could see the man she cared so deeply for in his mother, and she got along with Eileen better than she could ever hope for. Hermione felt as if in the span of a few hours, that she had gained another mum. After a few grueling hours, they sat together in the ballroom and took tea together chatting amiably.

"Hermione, I AM really glad that you are here."

"I m happy to be here." Hermione smiled at the other woman.

"Do you think…you could be happy here?" Eileen slowly stirred her tea as she became serious.

Hermione was shocked at how open and forward the question was. "Well I…"

Eileen set her tea down and looked at the young witch, "I know this may seem rather forward of me, but I think my son is in love with you. I know you two have not been together long, but I think there are some things you need to know. Severus has never, not once, brought any woman that he was involved with here. Not even his ex-wife. You see, I think he married her because he was lonely, and because his father's dying wish was to see our only son married. Severus wrote to me when you came to work at the school," Eileen smiled as Hermione paled a bit thinking ahead to where the conversation was heading. "I know about some of the misunderstandings you went through. But still, here you are. Hermione, a woman knows her son, and I can tell you that Severus cares for you more deeply than he has ever cared for anyone. So my next question to you is; do you love him? And could you be happy here with him? My Severus needs a woman like you."

Hermione smiled as she thought very briefly, "yes. To both questions." She looked at Eileen with only a small frown, "I love him, but I don't deserve this." She swept her hand around the ballroom to make her point.

Eileen smiled, "child, who ever said you HAVE to deserve something to receive it? Besides, I've read about you Ms. Granger. You helped defeat the dark lord, and I believe Severus told me you just achieved your masters. Not only that, you make my son happier than I've ever seen him. If that isn't deserving of something special, then I don't know what is." Eileen laid a gentle hand on Hermione's forearm and winked. "Plus, I think, I would be honored to have you as a daughter." Eileen went on to explain that engagements in the way that Severus was raised were at least a year long. "You see, I've told Severus after he was divorced that if he married again, I would like him to find someone he truly loved and bind himself to that person. Like most traditions, it is unbreakable, and therefore purebloods have a longer engagement to prevent… unnecessary deaths."

Hermione was a bit overwhelmed with all of this information, "what makes you think he wants to marry me?"

"Have you not been listening? Do you not see the way he looks at you?" Eileen chuckled at the younger woman, "you'll see."

Over the next couple days, Hermione, Severus, and Eileen were busy with preparations for the ball. Eileen called upon a seamstress witch to come to the manor to fit herself and Hermione with gowns, and after Hermione protested and was ignored, Eileen footed the bill telling Hermione to think of it as a 'thank you' for her help. Christmas came and went, and it was the best one Hermione could remember. Severus had met her parents and younger sister, and her family seemed to accept him as easily as Eileen had accepted her. She smiled as she remembered her sister, who had just turned twenty, asked if Severus had any brothers or cousins that looked like him. The preparations kept her fairly busy, and she and Severus found almost all of the time they spent together was at night when they went to sleep. She didn't mind, however, she was too excited about the ball, the next day.

As Severus dressed for the ball he reflected over the last week or so with Hermione here. It felt so right. He could hardly wait for the ball to start. He had a few surprises for her tonight. He looked at his reflection in his empty room; Hermione was getting ready in his mother's rooms. It was a good thing too, he hadn't told her that he'd invited her family to the ball, and he had escorted them to manor in secret earlier and set them up to stay in the same wing as himself and Hermione. He was nearly ready when he glanced at the small velvet box on his bureau. He had already talked with Albus, but he still needed to speak with one more person before he could make his dream a reality. He pocketed the box and made his way to the Granger's room. His knock was answered by Dr. Granger, "good evening, sir. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time."

Dr. Harold Granger regarded the man in front of him. He had met the man a few days ago, but he had immediately liked him. He didn't know Severus very well, but he could tell that their host was nervous. Harold smiled, "Of course." He stepped into the hall and walked with Severus as the other man collected his thoughts. He was curious as to what could make this man, who was so obviously a collected person under normal circumstances, seem so distracted. Harold did have to say that he liked the way Severus so obviously adored his daughter. True he would have to get used to the fact that Severus was not that much younger than he was, but apparently in the wizarding world the age difference between Hermione and Severus was not unusual. And Hermione was, if he was not mistaken, in love. Harold wanted his daughter's happiness more than anything in the world; and if was with this man, he had to say he did not mind. 'Funny thing,' Harold thought Severus looked like he himself had when he asked Alice's father permission to marry his daughter.

Severus walked through the halls of the manor with Hermione's father amiably discussing mundane issues until Severus finally stopped and turned to face the other man. "I didn't ask for you to accompany me for idle chatter, sir."

"It's Harold, and I know. What's on your mind, Severus?"

Severus cleared his throat and glanced out of a nearby window watching the guests arriving. "Hermione."

Harold smiled to himself as he watched the wizard in front of him. "Am I supposed to guess from here, or are you going to tell me?" He had found that he and Severus could talk very easily with out beating around the bush over the last few days.

Severus turned back to look at her father, a man not much older than he, himself, was. "Harold… I have not always been the nicest or most honorable man, and I would completely understand if you did not agree with what I am about to ask you." Severus cleared his throat and his hand brushed the box that was nestled in his dress robes. "I'm in love with your daughter. And even though I did not ask your permission to court her, I humbly ask for your permission to marry her." Severus pulled the box from his pocket and handed it to Harold for his inspection.

"Before I give my blessing, I have two questions;" Harold admired the ring for a moment before looking Severus in the eye. "First; why so soon? Hermione told me that you have not been dating for long."

Severus nodded and explained that he expected a long engagement and that he'd possibly loved her since the very moment she re-appeared in his life.

"Alright, I can accept that. My next and last question to you is why do you want to marry her?"

Severus thought for a moment trying to choose his words carefully to have the most impact. "Because, I don't think I could live with out her."

Harold smiled and handed the ring box back to Severus, "well then, that being said; I can't deny that my daughter is happier now, than I have seen her in years. I believe you, and I would be honored to give you my blessing and I wish you luck. Just know that if you ever hurt my little girl, no amount of magic in the world will protect you from me."

The ballroom was an artist's dream. The honey colored floor shone with a luster that came from deep within the wood that was polished to perfection. The guests were milling about, talking in small groups, and the colors were resplendent. The many colors of ladies formal gowns and dress robes glittered and mixed with the black tie dress of the men. People had pulled out all of the stops for the festive occasion and the ambience was that of bygone centuries when kings ruled the world. Expensive perfumes blended with the smells of food and flowers, each delicate note competing against each other and accosting the senses. The musicians were playing a soft melody, and Severus couldn't help but thinking what an excellent job Hermione and his mother had done planning the event on such short notice. He smiled as he remembered what Hermione had told him earlier in the day. Tonight would hopefully be her fairytale come to life as well as his.

Severus greeted his guests politely as he entered the ballroom on the queue of a rather pompous Percy Weasley, who had been employed to announce the entrances of honored guests by Albus. Severus thought it was a tradition thought up by over-narcissistic old men to make themselves more important than they were, but it was, as Albus pointed out, a tradition.

Severus noticed that after speaking with Harold, he felt a little more relaxed, but at the same time, incredibly nervous. He briefly wondered what he would do if Hermione rejected him, and at exactly what moment he should ask her hand in marriage. Shaking himself mentally, Severus mingled easily while waiting for his mother and Hermione to enter before the ball officially began. He'd no sooner greeted Albus when Percy's voice rang out above the crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you Lady Eileen Snape and Professor Hermione Granger." Severus turned toward the stairway of the ballroom entrance and felt as if he had been struck completely dumb. The room itself seemed to hold its breath along with Severus as Hermione and Eileen started to walk down the stairs. Severus almost forgot that anyone else was in the room as he mindlessly glided toward the stairs to meet Hermione. She was positively glowing.

Harold was nearly brought to tears as he saw his little girl entering the ball. She looked more like a princess than a witch as she glided down the stairs. The dressmaker had surely worked some sort of magic on the ice-blue fabric that artfully clung to her body. He wondered briefly if this was what it would feel like on her wedding day; knowing that his baby wasn't his alone anymore.

Severus stood at the base of the stairs as Hermione and his mother descended toward the party. He smiled a bit wider when he noticed that Hermione was wearing the jewelry that he had bought her for Christmas. His mother had let him know what color her dress was to be and he had purchased the blue topaz and diamond earrings and matching three-tier necklace, the jewels winked cold fire from their white gold settings against her milky skin.

Severus looked to his mother who inclined her head regally toward her son, giving him unspoken permission to open the ball with his love. Severus nodded in thanks before turning back to Hermione and offering her his hand. He led her to the dance floor through the parting ranks of guests to formally open the ball.

Hermione felt like Cinderella in the luxuriant dress and expensive jewels. When she entered the room of guests and friends, her eyes automatically sought out Severus. She smiled as their eyes locked, she could almost forget that anyone else in the room was there when he looked at her like that. As he moved to meet her at the bottom of the stairs she couldn't help but think he cleaned up nice. His hair was pulled back at the base of his neck and tied with a black ribbon. His robes were black, of course, but he had obviously had them tailored because the formal dress robes fit him like a second skin. When he led to the dance floor, Hermione finally looked away from his eyes to glance at the guests that she had worked so hard to accommodate. She saw many of the students currently enrolled in Hogwarts, along with many of her former class mates. Harry gave her a wink as she met his eyes, and Serena was looking at her with a rather Molly Weasley-like teary smile. Hermione was about to say something to Severus when she spotted her own family at the edge of the dance floor. As she and Severus took up their dancing positions she saw Severus watching her still.

"Surprised?" He had watched her face light up when she spotted her family through the crowd.

"Yes—did you arrange that?"

Severus gave her a nod as he swept her around the dance floor. "I thought they should be included in these festivities."

"Severus, really, this is almost too much…But, thank you." Hermione bit her tongue, she was about two seconds away from confessing her true feelings for him, but she knew that right at this moment, every single pair of eyes were on them, and she felt herself blush a bit. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Manage to stay so calm when all of these people are watching us, wondering about what is going on between us. Wondering why I entered with your mother and why I was chosen to open the ball with you."

"Well, I don't notice them when you are in my arms…"

Hermione smiled, flattered, and relaxed in his arms.

Hermione had danced for the first hour or so straight with Severus and many of the guests before she managed to extract herself from the dance floor to talk with her family. She introduced her family to many of her former class-mates and fellow professors, and spent her time alternating between her obligations as un-official hostess and having fun. Just before midnight struck Severus led her to the dance floor as the band began a slower song. Severus maneuvered them toward the center of the room before the New Year was announced. Many people kissed to ring in the beginning of another year, and Severus and Hermione were no exception, but instead of the fleeting kisses the others were giving or receiving, Severus tried to show her without words what he felt. By the time they parted, she could hear many of her students giggling and whooping. Hermione smiled at him as she tried to catch her breath, and noted that he suddenly looked nervous.

"Hermione, there is another reason I wanted your parents here tonight." He still held her close even though there was no music, and many of the guests had begun watching them. "I Love you."

Hermione was overjoyed and felt as though her heart would burst with happiness; she was about to say something when she felt him twitching slightly and remained silent instead to let him finish.

"I never thought it was possible to love anyone as much as I love you. And after thinking through what my life should be…I don't think I could bear to live without you by my side." At this point the room had gone silent and Severus pulled back from Hermione enough to pull the ring box from his robes before he got down on one knee. "Hermione Jane Granger, will you marry me?"

"I--" Hermione felt like she might faint for a moment, or that she was hallucinating. She blinked and when she still saw Severus down on one knee in front of her and much of wizarding Britain, her smile became radiant. "Yes…yes!" She started laughing and tears of pure happiness rolled down the apples of her cheeks. Severus smiled and put a very elegant looking ring on her left hand before he stood holding both of her hands and drawing her in for another kiss.

Severus felt like his heart stopped beating before Hermione had answered him. When he placed his mother's engagement ring on her finger he looked up and saw tears snaking down her beautiful face. When he stood and kissed her again, he felt that he never saw another moment, his life was complete. He dimly became aware as the crowd around them set up a cheer. All that mattered was Hermione; and that she had said yes.

Fin

AN: Let me know what you thought of this story. Thank you for all who have reviewed, and let me know if you wish me to continue this with a sequel! Thanks a bunch all, Read well!


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